All It Takes Is One Day
by frompemberley
Summary: James and Lily have only one day left at Hogwarts, and Lily still can't stand the sight of him.  But a lot can happen in 24 hours.
1. The Early Morning

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Harry Potter, or his parents.

**Author's Note: **This is the first chapter of a fanfiction I've been working on for a while. I originally published part of this chapter as a separate fic, but I decided to change it to a longer story.

Many thanks to my sister for being my first reader!

Please leave a review to help me improve as a writer.

Sirius Black took a running start, leaped high into the air, and landed squarely on his sleeping best friend. Beneath his assailant, James let out a mighty groan.

"Merlin, Padfoot! How much pudding have you been eating?" The newly awakened boy glared at his friend, but Sirius just let out a gleeful peal of laughter.

"What time is it?" the boy in the next bed moaned. "Wait—it isn't even sunrise!" That was true. In fact, the watch hanging from Remus's wrist read twelve twenty-two in the morning.

"Before you kill me, my dear Moony," Sirius began, standing up off of James and walking over to Remus, "let me remind you that today is our last day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is our last chance to perform the best prank/pranks this school has ever seen—ouch!"

While Sirius was making his little speech, James snuck up behind him and thumped him squarely in the head with a pillow. As the two boys wrestled animatedly on the floor, Remus rolled back over in bed to steal a bit more rest on this incredibly important day.

Lily Evans couldn't sleep. She had been waiting for seven years for this day to come. She would walk across the Great Hall and accept her elegantly sealed diploma from Professor Dumbledore. Finally all of her hard work would pay off.

But, it wasn't just the excitement of becoming a fully qualified witch that kept her up. She was more absorbed by a much pettier concern. Professor McGonagall had certainly meant well when she had announced that the class ranks would be revealed at the graduation ceremony. However, the overpowering need to be the best, to prove she could be as good as the purebloods was all Lily had thought about for weeks.

Perhaps one or two other Gryffindors were competition. James Potter and Remus Lupin were both uncommonly bright, even though the former spent little time on his studies. Selene Goode and Rashi Patil of Ravenclaw might also pose a threat. Every house had bright students, and Lily was too overwhelmed by the opposition to get any rest.

Resigning herself to the impossibility of sleep, Lily climbed out of bed and slipped out the dormitory door. While a midnight walk in her pajamas might not be strictly compliant with school rules, the Head Girl badge she grabbed off her nightstand would hopefully keep her out of trouble.

As she descended the stairs down to the common room, she heard conspiratorial whispers coming from bellow.

"Hurry Wormtail, under the cloak!"

"Mate, are you sure we'll all fit under here?

"Yeah Prongs, I think we've grown a bit since first year."

Lily narrowed her eyes at James Potter's idiotic nickname and peered down into the dimly lit common room in time to see a fat blond boy disappear. She was momentarily confused, but then she suddenly understood. An invisibility cloak! So that was how Potter had spied on her boyfriends for so many years. All along she had thought he just knew how to perform a very clever Disillusionment Charm.

Hearing the boys start to shuffle towards the exit, Lily internally groaned. She was not in the mood to deal with a band of troublemakers, especially not the lovesick prat James Potter. The fact that he had matured enough during the year to do a descent job as Head Boy was unimportant—once a toerag, always a toerag. Taking a deep breath, she descended the rest of the stairs and entered the common room.

James saw Lily step down into the room. The four boys froze, ten feet from the portrait hole. It struck James that, even in the middle of the night, Lily still managed to look amazing. Her piercing green eyes were illuminated by the ever-glowing fireplace. Her bright red curls were pulled back into a messy ponytail. In other words, she was beautiful.

Next to him Sirius tensed, snapping James out of his daydream. If Lily had arrived any sooner, she would have seen them slipping on the cloak. In fact, those brilliant green eyes seemed to be glaring directly at the four invisible friends. Fortunately, Lily passed by them and headed towards the portrait hole.

"That was close," whispered Sirius. "I think we're safe now."

Suddenly Lily froze and slowly spun around. James wondered if she had forgotten something in her dorm that was necessary for, well, whatever she was doing at this insanely early hour. Then she spoke.

"You might want to work on your whispering, Black. _Petrificus Totalus_." Lily aimed her wand at the cluster of invisible boys. It was Peter Pettigrew's chest that the spell connected with, and the poor boy toppled to the stone floor.

"Lily dearest!" James cried as Remus pulled the cloak off the remaining Marauders. "What did Peter ever do to you?"

"I was aiming for your inflated head you moron. And don't you dare call me dearest!" In light of the wand still brandished at him, James chose not to argue. He nervously ran his hand through his hair unsure what he should do. All he had wanted was a perfect last day of school.

Sirius stepped in, looking slightly amused, as he did each time James was turned down. "Might we ask what the Head Girl is doing out of bed at this hour of the night?"

"It's none of your business Black, but I had trouble sleeping. I doubt there is so innocent a motive behind your midnight wanderings." She was glaring acidly at the two black-haired boys in front of her. Sirius recoiled, marveling at the fierceness in so outwardly delicate a girl.

"Um, we had to go to the bathroom?" Sirius replied tentatively. James groaned at his friend's feeble attempt at a lie. Lily stood quite still for a moment, shocked by the stupidity of the excuse.

"May I ask what happened to the one in your dorm? Or why you are too insecure to go to the bathroom without the support of your little friends?" With her last insult she turned on her heels and stalked to the portrait hole. "And by the way, ten points from Gryffindor."

"What for?" Sirius called after her, but she had already disappeared into the shadowy corridor. "Talk about abuse of authority," he muttered to himself.

"Face it, Padfoot," Remus said after helping Peter up. "You're about as bad a liar as you are a whisperer." James just stared out of the portrait hole, after the beautiful girl that would never give him a chance.

An hour later, three boys were crowded in front of Filch's office, trying to make as little noise as possible. Remus was watching the Marauder's Map, tracking the caretaker's pacing dot around the castle. He was currently heading for the Astronomy Tower where Sirius was setting off a fabulous display of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. Though the brilliant exhibition of red and gold sparks would have been a worthy exploit on its own, it was instead a masterful diversion.

"Do you have the ammunition?" James questioned Peter, his hazel eyes alight with planned mischief. He was obviously in his element.

"Um, I'm not sure where I put it…" Peter looked around frantically, as though expecting to see a Zonko's bag behind a suit of armor.

Remus looked up from the map. "Remember Pete, I put an Undetectable Extension Charm on your pockets," he reminded his friend kindly. Sure enough, a search revealed several heavy packages concealed in the boy's robes.

In a matter of seconds, James had disabled the weak security charms guarding the office. He quietly opened the wooden door and motioned his friends into the doorway. Together they gingerly opened the joke shop packages to reveal a massive quantity of Dungbombs—one hundred and twelve, to be exact. The Marauders had set the record for the most Dungbombs set off in Filch's office at one time during fourth year. However, they had decided to repeat the classic prank, this time with twenty more putrid explosives.

After clipping clothespins to their noses, each boy grabbed one of the sacks and simultaneously hurled them into the small room. A deafening bang resounded out into the corridor. Every inch of the office, down to the wrist manacles, was covered in a noxious layer of rancid dung. They stood in silence for a moment, grinning widely at their unrivaled success. Then the boys remembered that some authority figure was sure to have heard the noise, and that Sirius could not delay Filch much longer. The trio hurried away from the scene of the crime, well pleased with their work.

Lily had been wandering about the grounds for while, letting her thoughts wander. The crisp night air always soothed her and years of experience sneaking out had taught her the best niches for nighttime ramblings. And here Potter and his gang thought they were the only ones with any notion of how to break the rules…. Sitting down under a large oak tree, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply in. _Only one more day of him and his stupid pranks. I will never have to see him again._ The thought of escaping Potter had kept her sane for the past two years. Sirius Black would always repulse her, but his best friend had a special rank in her loathing.

Shaking her head as though to banish thoughts of her constant antagonists, Lily stood up and yawned. It surely was time to return to her bed and try once more to sleep. She walked away from the lake and back into the sheltered courtyards. A small door set into one of the castle's stone walls was rarely locked, and she slipped back into the dark corridors of Hogwarts.

She made it as far as the main staircase before a ringing boom stopped her dead in her tracks. Now, Lily normally knew that it was hard to investigate suspicious explosions without involving herself in whatever criminal affair had occurred. However, for once in her life she was not thinking rationally.

_Potter, _she thought furiously, _this time I will catch you at your own game._ With a muttered curse, Lily sped off in the direction of the noise, envisioning a particular young man with messy black hair being punished for all his sins. Turning a corner she was hit with an overpowering odor and the sight of three empty Zonko's bags. A moment later a gnarled hand settled onto her shoulder.

"What have you done to my office?" Argus Filch screeched into the Head Girl's ear.


	2. In Trouble

**I'm having a mild case of writer's block, so this is a pretty short chapter. I figured I would update with what I have so far. Please review.**

Sirius Black stopped in front of a portrait of a fruit bowl and gently tickled the pear. When the portrait swung open, he climbed through the hole to join his awaiting friends.

"That was brilliant! I could smell the Dungbombs from halfway across the castle," he jubilantly congratulated his friends. Sirius sat down on the kitchen floor next to Peter, who was grinning proudly because of his part in the prank. James and Remus were lounging by the fire, drinking from a large bottle of Firewhiskey. Well, James was drinking. Remus was half-heartedly telling his friend off.

"What if Lily came in here doing, um, kitchen inspection?" Remus pointed out. "You know she would tell McGonagall, and then you'd be stuck in detention on your last day of school."

"Nonsense, Moony!" James drunkenly argued. "I would just use my charm and good looks on her, and she'd let me go." His friends laughed at him, and Remus tried without success to take the bottle of Firewhiskey away.

"Mate, who do you mean would fall for your charm, Lily or McGonagall?" Sirius asked James. "Because I think you would have an easier time of seducing the professor than our dear Head Girl." This earned another roar of laughter from Peter and Remus.

"Speaking of Lily," he continued, "I have something hilarious to tell you. When I was coming here from the Astronomy Tower, I saw Filch dragging her to Professor Dumbledore's office. It seems while Evans was wandering the castle, she got herself in trouble for our prank!" Sirius looked expectantly at his friends, but this time Peter was the only one laughing. Remus had guiltily glanced over at James, who was completely white.

"Now she'll hate me forever," James moaned. "How could you let Filch get her into trouble Padfoot?" Sirius's broad smile instantly faded into a confused frown.

"I didn't think..." he started to say. But James had already gotten to his feet and ran out of the kitchen, leaving both the Firewhiskey and his friends behind.

* * *

><p>"Please Professor! It wasn't me. I promise I had nothing to do with it," Lily said frantically. She was sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk with Filch next to her, muttering dark things about torture methods. Behind the desk sat a pajama-clad Albus Dumbledore. Filch had insisted that she be punished immediately, even though it was only two in the morning.<p>

"Miss Evans, what were you doing out of bed then?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly. Lily had hoped that he wouldn't ask her this, because her reason wasn't exactly compliant with school rules.

"Sir, I couldn't sleep. I decided to go on a walk by the lake."

"She's lying! I caught this filthy troublemaker at the scene of the crime!"

"Thank you for your input Argus, but I do not believe Miss Evans is a liar," Dumbledore responded to the caretaker. He waited a few moments before continuing to question Lily. "Are you aware that leaving your dorm at night is forbidden?"

"Yes sir. I know I shouldn't have broken the rules," Lily answered truthfully.

"And do you have any suspicions as to who set off the Dungbombs in Mr. Filch's office? While you were wandering the castle, did you run into anyone?"

"I-" Lily paused for a moment, shifting uneasily in her chair. When she continued, even she was surprised by what she said. "I didn't see anyone, sir." Why hadn't she blamed Black, Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew? She was positive they had done it, and yet she hadn't gotten them into trouble. What had stopped her?

"Headmaster, this girl is ruined my office! I want her expelled!" Obviously Filch didn't like the way the discussion was heading.

"The only thing she is guilty of is a midnight walk, and that is not punishable with expulsion. I have already told you that I do not blame your office on her," Dumbledore replied with considerably less patience. He sighed and popped a piece of taffy into his mouth. Lily was in the middle of wondering why he kept Muggle sweets in his office when he offered her one.

"Um, no thank you Professor. May I go back to bed now?"

"Well Miss Evans," the Headmaster began when suddenly the office door was flung open. A frantic James Potter entered unannounced, gasping for breath.

"It wasn't Lily, Professor. I did it. Don't blame her!"


End file.
